Local residents support bridge replacement

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/04/2018 (2721 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s been almost two years since the Sanford bridge over the La Salle River was closed but the RM of Macdonald council is still hoping to have it replaced.

The two-lane bridge, which was once the main access to Sanford off Highway  3, was closed in August 2016 by the provincial government due to safety concerns. People entering or leaving the community must now use PR 334 which is farther west on Highway 3 or a smaller municipal bridge on River Road.

Reeve Brad Erb said some Sanford residents feel cut off from their community as they are no longer able to easily walk or cycle from their homes to schools, churches and businesses.
J.A. Cuddy School principal Scott Thomson said students and parents have been affected by the closure.

“Some families have been affected as they now have to travel further to school or the school grounds.

Yes, bussing had to be rerouted to address the closure of the bridge,” he said in an email message.

To gather information on local residents’ opinions about the bridge and the cost of replacing it, the municipality sent out 375 surveys in December 2017. The surveys asked if replacing the bridge should be a priority for the municipality and if the respondent would be willing to pay an annual $160 levy on their property tax bill for the next 15 years.

The survey noted that the $160 figure is based on the provincial and federal governments paying half of the estimated replacement cost. An estimate issued in August 2017 placed the cost at just under $2.2 million.

The municipal office received 176 completed surveys with 124 (about 70 per cent) of respondents stating that bridge replacement should be a priority, and 107 (about 60 per cent) saying they are willing to help pay for a new bridge.

Erb said the survey results will help council continue lobbying the province about the bridge.

“We need clarity from the province,” he said, referring to the bridge’s location on provincially owned road 247 as well as the possibility of having the work done through a provincial bridge program.

A less expensive option could be a pedestrian/cyclist bridge over the river, Erb said.

The CAO’s report on the survey is available at http://macdonald.allnetmeetings.com/pubs/publicAgenda.aspx?aId=A48C8049-038B-4F35-848B-EDB34D962318